Kohnstamm v. Pedrick

62 F. Supp. 142, 34 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 229, 1945 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1932
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided July 9, 1945·Published

Opinion

NEVIN, District Judge

(Sitting by Designation).

In this action plaintiff seeks to recover the sum of $80,435.46,1 with interest, alleged to have been overpaid as federal income taxes for the taxable years 1939, 1940 and 1941. Taxes in the principal amount of $72,661.13 were paid by plaintiff on March 4, 1943. On the following day plaintiff paid interest in the sum of $7,774.33.

On April 30, 1943, plaintiff duly filed claims for refund of the foregoing taxes and interest. More than six months having elapsed prior thereto without any action having been taken upon the refund claims by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, this suit was commenced on November 9, 1943.

The taxes were assessed under § 22(a) of the Revenue Act of 1939, 53 Stat. 4 et seq, § 22(a) 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev.Code, by reason of a trust deed made by plaintiff in 1928.

Two issues are involved. The first is whether the Commissioner of Internal Revenue erred in including in plaintiff’s income for the years in question the income derived from an inter vivos trust created by the plaintiff on April 23, 1928, as amended. The second is whether the Commissioner erred in including in such income the amounts of income earned upon the income of the trust, which income was distributed to the plaintiff’s wife for the “education, support, maintenance and welfare” of the plaintiff’s three children during their minority.

The cause came on for hearing before the Court, without a jury, on September 15, 1944. While by agreement, some additional evidence was adduced, the pertinent facts are all set forth in a Stipulation [144] of Facts signed by counsel for the respective parties and filed on September 15, 1944.

The Court has adopted the facts as recited in this Stipulation as its Findings of Fact. Inasmuch as its Findings are hereinafter set forth, it is unnecessary to make a further statement of the facts as disclosed by the record.

The Stipulation was introduced in evidence and (except as to paragraph 26, thereof) is now plaintiff’s exhibit 1. While, as stated, the Stipulation is signed by counsel for the respective parties, the record shows that nevertheless counsel for plaintiff reserved the right to and did object to the introduction in evidence of paragraph 26 thereof, and that paragraph is not part of plaintiff’s case.

The record further shows (P. 46) that at the close of plaintiff’s case, defendant then offered in evidence paragraph 26 of the Stipulation — which incidentally was the only evidence offered on behalf of defendant in addition to that contained in the Stipulation. Paragraph 26 is now defendant’s exhibit A-l herein.

At the time paragraph 26 was offered in evidence, the record shows the following: “The Court: I will do this: at this time I will admit paragraph 26 which appears on page 8 of the stipulation which is now marked Plaintiffs Exhibit 1, and we will let that paragraph be marked as Defendant’s Exhibit A-l, and it is admitted subject, however, to plaintiff’s objection and plaintiff’s motion to strike, and that will be considered and passed on by the court. If I sustain the objection that paragraph will not be considered, and if I do not sustain it, it will be considered.”

Upon full consideration, the Court is of opinion and so finds that plaintiff’s objection and motion to strike above referred to are each and both not well taken and that they should be and hereby, they are, overruled. Paragraph 26 is admitted in evidence and has been considered by the Court along with all of the other evidence in arriving at its ultimate conclusion. To this finding and ruling of the Court, plaintiff’s exception is here noted.

The claims of the respective parties cannot be better set forth than in the language of their counsel. Counsel for plaintiff stated in the record that “it is plaintiff’s contention that he is not to be taxed either on the direct income or on the indirect income; clearly not on the indirect income because the securities from which that income was derived belonged not to him but to his children; not on the direct income because this was a trust irrevocable concerning which the plaintiff had no right whatever to receive any of the income or principal, or to determine who should receive that income or principal. All those provisions were fixed in the trust indenture. It is true that the plaintiff reserved in that indenture certain rights to control investments and vote stock, and one or two minor things, but * * * the courts have not held that the reservation of those rights permit the taxation of the income to the settlor where he has not the power to determine who shall get the money and can himself never get any of it. * * * Now the commissioner, in assessing this tax, proceeded originally on two theories, first, as to the entire income of the trust that it was taxable to plaintiff under Section 22(a) of the Revenue Code, because of his alleged control over the trust, and then as to the portions of the income applicable to the then minor children, on the ground that the income might have been used for their support, and under the Stuart case (Helvering v. Stuart, 317 U.S. 154, 63 S.Ct. 140, 87 L. Ed. 154), interpreting Section 167(a) 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev.Acts, page 727 is therefore taxable to the grantor. After the Stuart case was decided and after this assessment was made * * * Congress in the 1943 Revenue Act * * * changed the law as to the future so that now income from a trust is not taxable to the settlor merely because it might be used for the support of minor children, but only if it actually is used for their support, and the evidence here shows that none of the income was used for the support of the minor children but all of it was accumulated and invested for them.”

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Kohnstamm v. Pedrick, 62 F. Supp. 142, 34 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 229, 1945 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1932 (S.D.N.Y. 1945).

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